


Spider Sitting

by robofruit



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Thor (Movies)
Genre: IronStrange, Its a clusterfuck, M/M, Slow Burn, The Revengers - Freeform, bruce and thor are good dads, bruce is also oblivious to his own feelings for thor, peter centric, peter parker is a matchmaker, thor and bruce are roommates, thor is smitten for bruce and bruce is oblivious, thorbruce, thruce, tony and stephen are dads and peter is their adopted son
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-13 14:12:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14750393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robofruit/pseuds/robofruit
Summary: Tony Stark and Stephen Strange always took their adopted son Peter on vacation with them, but Peter needed to stay at school this time, so he has to crash with Bruce and Thor, (who are pining for each other but are oblivious) for a week. Meanwhile, Peter is having his own problems at school.





	1. Chapter 1

Tony Stark and Pepper Potts didn’t take a lot of vacations without bringing Peter. 

 

Since they adopted him, they’d always been too worried to leave him alone, and even though he was a teenager now, it was still hard for them to stray away from him. They’d gotten him good babysitters when he was young; Pepper's family was always up for the job, as well as Rhodey or Happy. But now, all of them were pretty busy, and the two of them needed a long vacation that Peter couldn’t take off school for. 

 

Thus came the searching. 

 

Pepper said she didn’t really know anyone too reliable; and by that she meant no one as fun as the people Tony had to offer. Sure, her friends would do a good job at watching Peter, but ever since this superhero stuff started, their son had become  _ enthralled  _ by all of Tony’s teammates. Usually they were all too busy to hang out with him; aside from Steve occasionally playing catch with him or Clint letting him tag along on day trips with his own family, no one really had time. 

 

But Tony knew where he’d go first. 

 

“ _ Bruce and Thor _ ?” Was Pepper’s first reaction, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as her husband smirked and crossed his arms, obviously proud of the idea but also amused at his confusion with the recommendation. The original idea was Bruce, but since he and Thor had became roommates, they also became a package deal. While she supposed they wouldn’t be too bad, Thor was kind of….Well, eccentric, and Bruce could barely take care of  _ himself,  _ let alone a 15-year-old teenager. 

 

She couldn’t express that side of it to Tony, of course; Bruce was his best friend, and no matter how much he teased him, Tony always seemed to have an odd, undying faith in Thor that Pepper really didn’t understand. 

 

“Duh!” Tony exclaimed, waving his arms a little. “First of all, they’re the kid’s godparents on my side. Second, out of everyone, Peter has met with them the least.” it was true; it was hard to introduce your son to your friends when one of them was galavanting through the galaxy searching for Infinity Stones and the other was thought to be dead. 

 

Pepper remembered having this discussion when Tony had first said Bruce would be a godfather. Of course, she understood the decision. Tony and Bruce were practically brothers at this point, and Pepper had gotten to be good friends with him as well. She didn't know Thor as well, but when he and Bruce had moved in together, they had decided to double team it, 

 

 

“Right...But that’s if we  _ die.  _ We’re going on a two week vacation- are you sure Peter will have fun with them? Are you sure  _ they’ll  _ have fun with Peter?” 

 

“Of course he’ll have fun with them,” Tony argued, placing a hand on Pepper’s shoulder and giving her one of those classic  _ Stark  _ looks. “Hell, Peter adores Thor, he’s always asking about him. And he’s studied Bruce’s stuff in school, I’m sure he’ll geek out when the two of them talk. Plus, they both love kids.” 

 

A norse god and an unstable scientist both loved kids? Pepper had to physically shake her head to get the doubts out of her mind. 

 

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and thinking. She really shouldn’t be so uptight about this; hell, Peter could practically take care of himself by now, but he’d probably jump at the chance to stay with two of the Avengers. 

 

“Fine. Since you’re talking them up so much- fine,” she saw Tony smirk before he gave her a small peck on the cheek, digging his phone out of his pocket and flipping through the holographic screen. “But if we come home to our son electrocuted, or- or  _ smashed,  _ I’m getting a divorce.” 

 

Tony just waved her off, holding the phone to his ear. “Hey, Point Break. Is Brucie there? I need a favor.” 

 

-

 

“I can’t believe Son of Stark will be staying with us!” Thor exclaimed as he carried pillows out from the closet, setting them on the couch. It hadn’t even been an hour since the phone call, but he and Bruce were already setting up a bed for Peter, as well as taking away anything that wasn’t teenager friendly, (Bruce knew Peter was 15 and didn’t need to watch out for sharp edges or outlets anymore, but he and Thor still had some pretty dangerous objects lying around). 

 

Bruce was walking into the living room, two blankets resting on each shoulder as he chuckled under his breath, folding them up and laying them at the end of the bed. “I know you know that’s not his name.” Bruce huffed with a small smile, standing back to admire the little bed they’d set up. 

 

“But you love it.” Thor argued, draping an arm around Bruce’s shoulders, causing him to jump a little. Bruce never really got used to how touchy Thor was, even though they’d been roommates for quite a while now. 

 

“But I love it.” Bruce agreed, smirking and moving down to adjust the pillows a little. 

 

Bruce’s eyes wandered over their apartment as Thor rested his arm on top of Bruce’s head. He supposed it looked nice enough; neither of them were the tidiest, but they’d cleaned for the week-long occasion. The plants were re-potted in more colorful vases, arranged along the windows. The Asgardian artwork on their wall had been straightened from their previously crooked state, and Bruce had even opened a can of febreeze on the whole house. 

 

Sure, they’d been a bit frantic about getting ready, but how couldn’t they? They were both so excited that they’d been chosen to take care of Peter, (Thor expressed it a little more, however Bruce seemed honored at the opportunity), and they couldn’t resist setting things up right away. 

 

“Son of Stark will love this place,” Thor broke the silence, squeezing Bruce’s shoulder with a small grin, looking down at him. Sometimes Bruce couldn’t deal with how bright those eyes were, of how wide Thor’s smiles were; it made him feel warm, weirdly, and all Bruce could do was return the grin. “We’ve done an excellent job.” 

 

“Let’s hope so,” Bruce agreed with a small nod. “He’ll be here for a week, after all. We should probably go get some kid friendly stuff.” of course, thanks to Thor, they already had a good number of that as it was; Thor loved Disney movies, as well as sweets, so they already had a good supply going. However, Bruce reminded himself that Peter was a teenager, and might have grown out of those things. 

 

“Later,” was the only response Bruce got, and when he looked back up at Thor, he was grinning, flopping back into the couch and grabbing the remote. “Watch television with me, Banner.” 

 

What kind of monster would he be to say no to that? 

 

-

 

“Wait,  _ what _ ?” Peter had gotten used to tuning out his father when he got talks like this, especially during his hang-outs with Ned, but that last part sent both of their attention right to Tony. 

 

“If you’d been  _ listening _ , you would have heard me the first time,” Tony scolded, and Peter just shrugged his shoulders, too excited to deal with his own negligence at the moment. Tony sighed before he went on. “I  _ said  _ that while we’re gone you’re gonna be staying with Uncle Bruce and Auntie Thor,” Tony remarked, but the joke went right over the two boys’ heads. 

 

“Really?!” Peter exclaimed, looking back at Ned with wide eyes. His friend’s mouth was hanging open, and he had that same starstruck look that he got whenever Peter’s superhero stuff leaked into his normal life, (which was a lot, considering his parental team consisted of a wizard and a guy in robotic armor). 

 

“Dude! You need to have me over!” Ned put his arms out in front of him enthusiastically as Tony sighed and shut the door. “You haven’t been able to take me to meet any of your- your  _ dad’s friends  _ yet, and this would be the perfect chance! Shit, Peter, you’re going to be roommates with  _ Thor and Hulk _ .” 

 

“I know!” was all Peter could seem to yell out in response. He hadn’t really met Dr.Banner and Thor (Mr.Odinson?) much yet, considering Thor and Bruce went to places in space a lot and Tony was always telling Peter not to bother Bruce whenever he was let into their lab. Truthfully, he didn’t know if the two of them would be cool with him inviting a friend over, but he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Hell, he owed Ned anyway. “I promise I’ll ask. But you’ll probably get to meet them if they pick me up from school, anyway.” 

 

That made Ned clap his hands together in excitement, and Peter couldn’t help smiling at that. He loved making his friend happy; he’d been there for Peter for as long as he could remember, and the fact that he could repay him with something he loved so much was always a consolation to Peter. 

 

“This is going to be great. You gotta take pictures- oh! And you gotta tell me how they are in person. I imagine Thor to be kinda serious, y’know, brooding, but have you seen the interviews with him? He’s so nice! Do you think you’ll meet Hulk? That would be scary. I guess Banner’s cool, too, though, maybe he’d help you cheat on your chem test….” The rest of the night was spent with the two of them rambling together as Peter packed a bag for his week-long stay. 

 

He couldn’t lie, he was a little nervous since he didn’t know either of them too well, but Tony said that they were excited, so he supposed it couldn’t go too wrong, right? He thought of himself as a good house guest, after all. 

 

He felt a little giddy as he packed his spiderman suit, grinning and thinking about everything that could happen. This would be the best week of his life. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter shows Thor and Bruce his favorite movies.

After Ned had left, Peter’s packing had become even more serious; sure, he acted casual in front of his friend, but truthfully, he was dying to impress Dr.Banner and Mr.Odinson, and he needed the right things to do so. The only problem was to figure out what could even impress an alien god and a scientist with the worst anger issues on the planet? 

He looked over everything in his room, trying to decide what might be a good thing to show them. He knew he had a book about mythology somewhere, maybe it was Norse, but even if it wasn’t, Thor would enjoy it, right? He picked up the large, flat book and jammed it in his backpack against his clothes. He knew Dr.Banner liked science, obviously, so he also grabbed his Newton’s Cradle, (it might be a little simple a gift for someone who has 7 PHDs, but maybe he didn’t have one of these yet.) 

“Peter, are you ready yet?” he heard Pepper's voice shout at him from the hallway. Since they had a night flight out, they had to drop Peter off at Thor and Bruce’s pretty late at night; not that Peter minded. Hell, how could he complain? He was getting to spend the week with the strongest Avengers. 

“Uh, yeah, coming!” Peter squeaked, desperately trying to zip his backpack over the book and the newton’s cradle before giving in and deciding to just carry them. He tucked the book under his arm and slung his backpack over his shoulders, holding the cradle and moving quickly out the door. He was wearing his old spiderman hoodie, as well as ripped up jeans and some old chuck taylors that used to be his dad’s. 

As soon as he stepped into the hall, he walked into Tony, who looked down at him with an amused grin. Peter felt his face go hot as he held the newton’s cradle close to his chest, trying to think of an excuse that would make him seem like less of a fanboy. “Uh- I was just- I needed to get rid of some things, and I thought they might like to have them?” 

“Yeah, yeah, save it for the lunch table, kid,” Tony pat his shoulder as Stephen wheeled the rest of their luggage out the door. Once he was gone, Tony suddenly placed both of his hands on Peter’s shoulders. “Hey, Peter, be good, alright? Thor and Banner’ll be able to take care of you, but they’ve both been through a lot, so don’t ask any...Just, try to keep your questions away from any serious topics, you feel?” 

Peter furrowed his eyebrows, nodding as if he was getting orders from a general. He didn’t really know much about the Avengers’ pasts, since none of them liked to talk about it and Tony had always told him to tread lightly in the backstory area. Peter understood; he’d gone through some stuff, too, and he always hated being asked about it at school. “I- feel, dad.” 

Tony grinned. “What, is that not what you kids are saying? Remember, your dad’s Tony Stark, so I’m much cooler than you by birthright,” Pepper opened the door, and Peter couldn’t help but smirk and roll his eyes as he walked past his father. “If anything, I should be giving you advice on what’s cool,” Tony continued behind him, but Peter was too excited to humor his dad.  
The whole car ride over he could feel his heart flutter in his chest when he thought about different possibilities. His mind always traced over fighting with them, swinging through the streets of New York and landing on Hulk’s shoulders. Hell, just being near Thor was good enough to get his heart racing, bouncing a little in his seat as his stomach flipped at every turn the car made, as if any apartment could be theirs. 

He was picturing something a lot more....Fancy. 

He wasn’t disappointed, of course; it wasn’t a bad place, and Peter was sick of huge penthouses by now, but it was also surprising that two of the biggest celebrities lived in a small apartment 45 minutes away from his house. It was brick, with large, black numbers painted on the doorway. Tony must’ve noticed the confusion on Peter’s face, because while they were buzzing in, he turned and explained it. 

“Thor’s popular, but he doesn’t have a job. Bruce works at Stark Industries with me, but no matter how many times I try to throw extra money at the guy, he doesn’t take it.” Peter just nodded, a bit too excited to worry about Thor and Bruce’s finances at the moment. His heart jumped at the sound of the buzz blaring from the speaker next to them, followed by the glitchy audio of Thor’s voice. 

“Stark?” Oh my God, Peter thought. He sounds just like he does in interviews. “I’m afraid I can’t see your picture clearly. Are you here with the young Peter?” 

Thor knew Peter’s name. 

“Yup, it’s us. Buzz us in, thundercat,” Tony remarked, taking a sip of the iced coffee he’d got on the way over, insisting they stop for drive-thru. There was a long pause, before the God’s voice emerged from the intercom again. 

“Hm...How?” Thor asked through the speaker, and Peter heard both of his dads sigh in unison. 

“Here, lemme help you,” Peter’s heart jumped when he heard Bruce’s voice, it reminded him that this was really happening, he was really about to go into their apartment, and oh god, what if he smelled bad, did he remember deodorant? What if he got sick at their house? What if- 

Peter’s thoughts were interrupted by the loud blare of the buzzer and the satisfying click of the door opening. Tony strode into the apartment excitedly, practically skipping up the stairs. Before Peter could join him, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned back to see Pepper staring at him intently. 

“Are you sure you’re up for this, Peter?” 

“Are you kidding?” he shrugged his mother’s hand off, running up the stairs after Tony, his chuck taylors making a satisfying clunk on each coming step. “This is going to be the best week of my life!” he exclaimed, and hoped he hadn’t been loud enough for Thor or Bruce to hear him. 

Once he reached the top of the staircase, he saw his father giving Bruce a hug that the doctor seemed hesitant about at first. Then Thor wrapped both of his arms around them, practically lifting the two smaller men up. “It’s been too long, Stark.” Thor had said when he finally released them. 

“But I gotta see him every day,” Bruce remarked, and Tony jabbed an elbow at his side. 

“Don’t act like you don’t love me.” Tony teased, and Peter had noticed a small smile on the scientist’s face, the first one he’d ever seen on the man. He couldn’t help but feel proud that it was his dad who did that. His dad made the Hulk happy. God, Peter felt so cool sometimes. 

“Where is young son of Stark?” Thor asked, though he was already looking right at him. 

Peter froze despite feeling Pepper’s hands on his shoulders in a reassuring grip. The seconds seemed to stretch out for minutes as he attempted to croak out a response, during this time realizing he had to actually look up at Thor, which didn’t make it any easier to respond. “Uh- I’m, I mean,” all eyes were on him now.

As usual, Tony looked like a mix of proud and amused. He felt Pepper squeeze his shoulder encouragingly as Peter studied the two men’s faces. Thor looked excited, as if waiting for his response was like getting to the highest point in a roller coaster, but Bruce looked a little worried, yet somehow almost sympathetic.

“I’m- Peter,” he held out his hand to the two men, seeing Tony smile proudly at his nice save. Thor gripped his hand tightly with confidence, slightly leaning down to talk to him, which was, to say the least, a little embarrassing before he noticed how tall Thor was to everyone else. 

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Peter.” Thor remarked, before releasing his hand and looking at Bruce expectantly. His tone of voice almost sounded proud, as if Peter was someone he admired. It made Peter feel big. It seemed to take the doctor a little bit to jerk his hand up to Peter’s, nodding at him. 

“Yeah- you’ve really, uh. You’ve grown, kid.” was all Bruce could say before letting go of Peter’s hand. The scientist sounded genuine, almost fond as he seemed to look Peter up and down, a smile quirking at his lips. He made the Hulk happy. He really was cool. 

“Well,” Tony patted Peter’s shoulder, and he felt Pepper release him, the two of them moving to stand next to each other at the top of the stairs. “All three of you have our numbers, yeah? Feel free to call. But not too much.” Peter felt a little lame getting a hug from both of his parents before they retreated back to their ride, but he supposed he’d have to deal with it. 

“S-see you,” he called as they walked down the stairs, feeling even more nervous now that he was alone with them. Thankfully, Thor didn’t waste any time. 

“Peter! You must come in right away. I’ve set up a cozy spot for you on the couch, and Banner has set up the ray of blue for your viewing pleasure.” Thor grabbed at his arm, and suddenly Peter found himself laughing a little under his breath. Things were a lot lighter when Thor was talking, and even Bruce cracked a smile as he held the door open for the two of them. 

“Don’t let him get away with that; he knows it’s called a BluRay,” Bruce told him, and Peter couldn’t help the fond grin spreading across his cheeks as the scientist gave him a small wink. Thor elbowed Bruce in the side. 

“Hush, Banner. You’re ruining the magic.” Thor scolded, leading Peter inside. 

Peter heard the door shut behind them, gazing in wonder at their apartment. “My bad,” Bruce uttered, and the two of them immediately launched into a tour of the house. 

-

The tour went more excitingly than any house tour Peter had ever been on, and with him being a Stark, that was saying something.

Thor covered every inch of the apartment with such enthusiasm that it made the small two-bedroom seem like a palace. Not only did he go over every room in immense detail, but he pointed out things that Peter hadn’t even noticed and gave them joyful explanations. Bruce stayed quiet through the whole thing, lingering behind them and seeming amused at Thor. 

“And finally, the living room,” the God posed before them, his arms outstretched as if he were presenting a peace of art. He slapped his hands on the sides of the small, blue sofa. “Banner and I picked this out at the market called Ikea. I assembled it myself,” he beamed with pride at the statement, patting the couch before gesturing to the pillows and blankets, all folded neatly at one side of it. 

“This will also serve as your bed. But if it’s too uncomfortable, we are always willing to trade with you. Aren’t we, Banner?” Thor placed a hand on the shorter man’s shoulder, as if he was trying to get him to speak up. He smiled down at Bruce fondly, eyes seeming to sparkle as Bruce looked back up at him, then at Peter. 

“Oh- uh, yeah, of course. Feel free to let us know if there’s anything that’s bothering you here. We’ve never had a guest.” Peter smiled politely in response, watching as Thor patted Bruce’s back, his smile never faltering. 

“Uh- thank you, Dr.Banner, but I’m sure the couch’ll be fine,” He stammered, gesturing to the sofa with a small nod. “Honesty, I could sleep on anything.” 

The scientist nodded at him as Thor continued the tour. “These are our houseplants!” he announced, gesturing at the array of potted succulents scattered across the window cill. “Banner and I even named them. This one I call Thor,” he pointed to a tall cactus that was blooming red flowers. “This one is Turtle, that one is Lemon, and over there is Pickle…” he droned on until he seemed to realize that plant names weren’t such an interesting topic. 

“Anyway, that’s all! I hope you enjoy yourself, Peter.” the two of them looked over at him, smiling almost expectantly, and Peter felt his hands clench at his sides. He already loved it here, but he didn’t want to be overly excited. 

“This is-...” he gestured around him, and for a second, Thor looked worried. Peter let out happy sigh, smiling and looking up at them. “This is amazing, thank you guys, really. This is...This is great.” he felt proud of himself when he saw Thor’s bright smile return, looking as if he was about to say something before Peter remembered the gifts. 

“Oh yeah! I got you guys some things.” Peter held them both out at the same time, and the two men brightened with curiosity as they each took their respective gifts. Thor seemed confused at first, but overall happy with the gift as he studied it, running his fingers over the hardcover of the book. Bruce smiled fondly at his, pulling one of the steel balls at the end back, letting it go and watching as the two balls opposite of eachother took turns clacking against the middle ones. 

Thor’s eyes seemed to brighten at the contraption, and he looked from the newton’s cradle to Bruce. “Banner! It’s like magic!” he exclaimed almost encouragingly as he gripped an amused-looking Bruce’s shoulder, turning over to Peter. “Thank you, son of Stark, these gifts are truly wonderful!”

Peter scratched the back of his neck, grinning a little and looking down at his feet. “N-no problem!” he stammered, his voice coming out a little more squeaky and nervous than he’d meant it. Thor and Bruce exchanged glances before looking back at Peter. 

“Let’s watch a movie, then!” Thor announced with the clap of his hands. 

-

One movie had turned into 2, 2 had turned into 5, and now they were burning through the stack of DVDs so fast that Peter couldn’t remember what they’d watched first. It turned out the three of them shared a collective taste in movies, all of them enjoying old adventure films. They watched all the Alien movies, (all with Thor huddling against Bruce at the frightening parts), The Labyrinth, almost all of the Lord of the Rings, and Peter had even shown Bruce Harry Potter for the first time, a series that Thor had somehow seen before him. 

They’d talked over the movies, joking and laughing at cheesey parts or at tropes that Thor couldn’t really understand. Even so, the god relentlessly teased the main character’s poor decision making. When Thor laughed, though, it was a booming, echoing laugh, followed by the clap of either Peter or Bruce’s shoulder. Bruce even cracked some sarcastic quips at the expense of some of Peter’s favorite movies, but there was a fondness in his face as he watched them, and instead of getting defensive, it just made Peter laugh. For the first time since he stepped into the apartment, Peter felt relaxed. 

By the time they were on their last film, Peter was starting to nod off. Bruce had started to do some paperwork in the middle of their binge, and was probably the most awake of the three of them, considering Thor had leaned against the doctor, already sound asleep without alerting anyone of it. Peter swore he could see a tint of pink on Bruce’s cheeks when Thor first leaned against him, but he shrugged it off. 

“Peter?” the distant voice woke him from his sleepy trance, and he turned to see Bruce leaning over Thor, looking over at him as he organized the papers in his lap. Peter rubbed his eyes, straightening himself up on the couch, not being able to help but feel a little embarrassed. “Do you want me to help you set up your bed?” 

It took Peter a few seconds to register the question, but once he realized he just shook his head, raking his fingers through his matted hair with a small yawn. “Nah- I think I can do it. Thanks, Dr.Banner.” 

“Don’t mention it.” he answered, laying the paperwork on the table and starting to wake Thor gently. He stood along with the god, who was still leaning on him and mumbling something into his shoulder. “Goodnight, Peter.” Bruce said with a small wave, starting to lead the god to his bedroom. 

“Goodnight, Dr.Banner- Mr.Odinson.” he gave a small nod, Bruce chuckling under his breath as Thor clumsily retreated into his room. 

“You can just call me Bruce, kid,” there was a click, and the lights flickered off. “Night.” he said once more, before Peter heard the creaking of his bedroom door. 

Peter nodded, starting to lay down on the couch. Bruce, he went over in his head, pulling the blankets over himself and closing his eyes. Thor. I’m sleeping on Thor and Hulk’s couch. 

And Peter smiled as he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so soft for these 3 boys 
> 
> hmu on tumblr @fruit-butt and on twitter @roboticpeach


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor and Bruce take Peter to school

The morning after Peter had slept on Thor and Bruce’s couch had been....Exciting, to say the least. The orange sunlight was filtering through the blinds, beating against Peter’s eyelids. The morning light was so soft that he could see specks of dust floating around the apartment. It was easier to study the room now; the colors of the plants and flowers, the different posters and the worn out spiral notebooks. It was like you could see the ghost of Thor and Bruce around every inch of the apartment. It was one of the coziest places Peter had ever slept in. 

 

It was a Monday, which meant everyone got up at 6, which meant everyone seemed to be carrying the weight of the hours they spent up last night- everyone except Bruce, at least. 

He acted like the blaring of alarm clocks was just as normal as the chirps of birds perched on the powerlines outside. Peter was nudged awake by the smell of sizzling eggs and toasting pop tarts, as well as the earthy smell of coffee brewing. 

 

It wasn’t too bad for Peter; he stayed up late a lot with Ned, whether it was a sleepover or a Skype session, so he could manage it pretty well. Thor, however, was  _ reeling.  _ Peter couldn’t help but smirk at the way he leaned on the walls, closely cropped hair tousled and baggy shirt hanging off his shoulders. Seeing him casually at home was nothing like seeing him on TV, with his heavy armor and the scowl he wore as he fought. 

 

“Are you gonna get dressed, Thor?” Bruce asked between bites of toast. He was reading the paper, with thick square glasses on, and Peter couldn’t help but notice how dad-like he looked, (which was more dad-like than either of his parents). Peter had already changed, and Bruce had come out of his room in a purple button up and gray dress pants. Thor looked up at him, bits of pop tart in his mouth as he fought to keep his eyes open. 

 

“Well, I am dressed, aren’t I?” his voice was low and rumbly when he was tired, and Peter couldn’t help but notice the way Bruce’s attention veered back to his plate, cheeks tinted pink as Thor re-adjusted his shirt. Bruce only nodded in response as the god suddenly turned to look at Peter. 

 

“How did you sleep? I hope our living room was comfortable for you.” the tired smile he’d been wearing ever since Bruce pushed a cup of heavily sugared coffee in his hands had never fallen. 

 

“Oh- yeah, it was fine! Comfy,” Peter reassured with a few nods. Thor’s eyes crinkled as he smiled almost proudly. “Uh- thank you, Mr.Odinson- Dr.Banner, for letting me stay.” he didn’t know why, but sometimes it felt like his parents were lurking behind him, reminding him to make a good impression. 

 

“Thor is-" 

 

“You can-" 

 

Both of them started in unison, Thor awakening with booming laughter as he patted a flustered looking Bruce on the shoulder. The scientist giggled a little, too, and Thor squeezed his arm. 

 

“No need for formalities,” Thor then said, not taking his hand off Bruce’s shoulder when he turned back to look at Peter. With a small wink, he smiled at him. “Heroes call other heroes with their first names, after all.” 

 

Peter felt like butterflies were exploding in his chest. 

 

“Thank you-  _ Thor. Bruce. _ ” he felt like a little kid swearing, but Thor and Bruce smiled at him, and Peter started to feel a lot more comfortable. “Actually, I have something...I needed to ask you,” Peter felt his neck go hot as the two men turned to look up at him. He’d promised Ned he’d do this, and no matter how much he felt like a little kid for asking, he needed to. 

 

“Would you- drop me off at school so you can meet my best friend? He’s a big fan, and we can do it where it’s not too crowded-” 

 

“We’d  _ love  _ to!” Thor chimed, a bright smile on his face as he finished what was probably his 4th or 5th pop tart. He turned to look at Bruce, who seemed a little hesitant, but nodded. Peter couldn’t help but feel a little guilty before a small smile suddenly spread across the scientist's face.  

 

“I guess we don’t get this opportunity often. Usually our only public visits are...Court trials.” Thor chuckled at that, and Bruce looked almost proud as he took a sip of his coffee. 

 

“Thank you guys so much!” Peter chirped enthusiastically, standing up and slinging his backpack over his shoulders. “He’s gonna love this. Really. You guys are like, his favorites. Lemme just text him…” He dug his phone out of his pocket almost frantically as he typed out the message. 

 

_ Dude, meet me behind the gym. You’re gonna meet Thor and Hulk.  _

 

He considered the part about Hulk, since he doubted Bruce would transform behind a  _ school,  _ but he supposed it would help get Ned hyped up. 

 

“Alright, then, we better get going!” He felt Thor pat his shoulder a little too hard, causing him to stumble a little as he tucked his phone back into his pocket. He was glad Thor was excited; maybe he liked being treated as a celebrity, who knows, but he just hoped they wouldn’t mind Ned getting too excited. 

 

-

 

Having a child in the car with them felt so  _ fun _ . 

 

Thor didn’t really know why; it’s not like he didn’t have fun going places with Banner anyway. Every time he strapped his seatbelt in and cranked up the radio he felt giddy and excited, but seeing Peter climb in through the rear view mirror made him feel a different kind of fun; he felt  _ responsible.  _

 

Even Bruce, who’d been pretty nervous about this whole thing, let out a small smile at Peter as he climbed in. Thor would never get used to those small smiles; the way you had to search for them, the way Bruce’s eyes spoke more than his lips. He realized he must’ve been staring too much when Bruce turned back at him, raising his eyebrows in confusion as Peter buckled up. 

 

“Ready, kid?” Bruce called back as he started the car. Thor adjusted himself as Peter nodded, turning on the radio as Bruce pulled out of the garage. 

 

It turned out Midgardian schools weren’t all that different from Asgardian schools. 

 

All the kids were in small, mob-like groups, some of them play fighting while others just spoke to each other quietly. Some kids even reminded him of Loki, their hair so black the sunshine made it almost look blue. Thor smiled; maybe Loki and Valkyrie could meet Peter during his stay. He was about to bring up the idea when they parked, Peter instantly jumping out of the car and directing them where to go. 

 

He told Thor to keep his head down so that people wouldn’t recognize him. Usually, Thor wouldn’t really mind, but if it meant not embarrassing Peter, he’d do his best to keep a low profile. 

 

“Should I try to hide, too?” Bruce asked once the three of them were waiting behind a wall. 

 

“Uh, you kinda already look like a teacher, Dr.Banner,” Peter answered, a small smile on his face as Bruce chuckled under his breath. Thor didn’t know why his chest felt warm at that, but he just laughed, clapping Bruce on the shoulder. 

 

“You do act like a scholar, Banner. Maybe you should teach at Peter’s school.” Thor peered down at him, noticing the far-away look in Bruce’s eyes when he looked over at the children, kicking a white checkered ball between themselves. 

“Yeah,” he replied, that same small smile on his face. “Maybe.” 

 

“You’d be good!” Thor continued, his hand on Bruce’s shoulder now. “You always-” 

 

“ _ Oh, _ ” Thor was cut off by a voice behind the three of them, each of them whipping their heads around to see a short kid gaping at them. “ _ My God. _ ” 

 

“Uh, guys,” Peter patted the kid on the shoulder, beckoning him forward. The kid’s eyes only widened more, as if registering that Thor and Bruce were even real. Thor felt Bruce move a little more behind him, or maybe he’d moved more in front of Bruce- sometimes he couldn’t tell. “This is my best friend, Ned. He’s..been wanting to meet you for a while.” 

 

“ _ I can’t believe you’re here! _ ” Ned exclaimed, his arms out in front of him as he looked right up at the two of them. Thor couldn’t help but smile, bringing him so much excitement was clearly an achievement on his part. “I mean, I’ve seen you in the news so much, and I clearly thought, wow, y’know, these two are the  _ strongest  _ and probably have a lot going on so why are they on TV? And then- then you guys were just  _ gone,  _ and man I was so sad, nothing was the same anymore, but then you came back and saved the world  _ again,  _ even after being gone for two years, and- where’d you go? Can you tell me, or is it a secret?” Thor had no idea when the child called Ned would have stopped talking, but when he did, he had to wait a few seconds to make sure he was really done. 

 

He exchanged glances with an amused-but-slightly-nervous looking Bruce before addressing Ned again. 

 

“It’s quite a long story,” he offered, hoping not to disappoint the kid. He didn’t look upset, but Thor couldn’t help not telling the kid. “But maybe you could come over later and we could talk about it?” 

 

Even Peter seemed to light up at that; Thor realized he hadn’t told Peter where they’d gone, either, and he was starting to get pumped up to lay it on them as well. 

 

“Really? Don’t feel like you have to, but-  _ wow,  _ I still can’t believe you’re  _ Thor,  _ and you’re- I mean, you’re  _ Hulk, sometimes,  _ and- God, I’ve dreamed about this but-” he was interrupted by a sudden bell, and Peter grabbed Ned’s arm. 

  
“Uh, thank you guys for taking me! We gotta go!” he tugged Ned’s arm, but the boy didn’t budge. “Ned?” 

 

“Oh, right!” Ned waved at Thor and Bruce before continuing with his friend, still seeming to shake with excitement as they disappeared into the building. 

 

-

“That Ned boy reminds me of you.” Thor had remarked on their drive home, earning a quizzical look from Bruce. If anything, he and Ned were opposites; Bruce didn’t think he’d ever said that many words at one time. 

 

“Why’s that?” Bruce inquired, looking over at Thor when they reached a stoplight. Thor turned back at him, smiling that smile that was almost  _ too bright,  _ that smile that made Bruce feel like he was falling apart inside. 

 

“He seems very curious,” Thor replied, laying a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “You’ve never lost that quality, either. I like it.” 

 

Bruce looked down at the steering wheel, feeling his cheeks heat up as a small smirk tugged at his lips. “If you say so,” he answered.  _ Damnit Bruce, say something back, compliment him, he did it for you.  _ “Uh- he’s, y’know, energetic too. Like...Like a dog. You both remind me of dogs.” 

 

Bruce couldn’t believe his winning compliment was to compare Thor to a dog. Smooth move. He could almost see Tony face-palming in the back of his mind. 

 

Thor only smiled, eyes crinkling as his gaze never left Bruce. 

 

“You really think that?” he sounded almost hopeful, and if Bruce wasn’t so hard on himself, he could have sworn there was a little blush on Thor’s cheeks. 

 

Bruce looked back up at him, smile spreading across his face as he nodded. “I really do.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter! im gonna get a cute lil plot goin soon but i hope so far you're enjoying it! 
> 
> my tumblr is @fruit-butt and my twitter is @roboticpeach!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Bruce reminisce about Peter's childhood, and Thor fights a weird bug-man.

Ned wouldn’t stop talking about Thor and Bruce, (or as he called him, Hulk) all day. But it’s not like Peter couldn’t, either; it was a good thing they sat at their own table, so that no one overheard them blabbering about it over their lunch trays. MJ was there, but she was pretty used to them talking about weird shit anyway that she probably wasn’t even paying attention. 

 

“So what are they like?” Ned asked after another one of his rambling fits, shoving some school-lunch pizza in his mouth as he stared at Peter. He had that same sparkle in his eye that made Peter smile, thinking of a response as he sipped chocolate milk through the carton. He hadn’t really thought about it too much; when he got to their house, and started to talk to them, it all felt so...Natural, and after a while of hanging out with them, it was weird to remember who they really were. 

 

“Thor is...Very excitable,” Peter explained, nodding with a fond smile on his face. “Last night, we were watching movies, and whenever there was a part that was like, suspenseful or funny, he was  _ super  _ expressive. He acted like he knew the main characters- he’d get worried about them until Dr.Banner reminded him it wasn’t real.” Ned snorted at that, and Peter caught MJ giving them the same side-eye she always gave them at lunch. He ignored it. 

 

“And Dr.Banner…,” he continued, popping a tater tot in his mouth as he thought. “He’s...Quiet, I guess. But he’s actually pretty funny, when he does say stuff. He’s kinda like a teacher that acts professional but is actually super cool, y’know?” 

 

Ned nodded, a small smile on his face through stuffed cheeks. “And...Have you met Hulk? Like,  _ Hulk  _ Hulk?” 

 

“Oh- no,  _ God  _ no,” Peter answered, shaking his head a little and fiddling with his fork. “I mean, it would be cool, but the two of them don’t really even talk about it. And my dad told me not to ask. About Hulk, or Asgard, or-...” he realized he might’ve been saying too much when he stuffed a handful of tater tots in his mouth to shut himself up. 

 

“Yeah, I guess it would be a big deal if Hulk actually had to come out…” Peter nodded, continuing to snack on his lunch when something outside suddenly caught his eye. It looked like a weird...Man? But also a bug, with wings like a fly’s. He realized he’d been drowning Ned out when he suddenly stood, patting his friend on the shoulder. “Hey, I’m sorry but- I really gotta go. Tell them I got sick or something, ok?” 

 

“Wait, where are you-” he felt guilty when Ned’s voice drowned out over the crowd in the lunchroom, but he couldn’t hesitate. He ran outside, back behind the gym as he frantically pressed down on the watch his dad had given him, the Spiderman suit quickly forming around him. In seconds, he had pulled himself in the air, wind rushing past his ears as he ran from building to building, hurdling over rooftops and approaching the man quickly. 

 

He could tell now that it was a suit; all black, some of it looking almost leather-like. He was wearing what could only be described as a biker helmet, and out of his glove was a light blue laser, drilling a hole in the roof of the building. 

 

“Hey!” he yelled, perched on the building above him. He saw the man turn up to look at him, but all he could see was the biker helmet; the visor seemed like it was sprayed black, almost. “I-I’ll give you one chance to stop what you’re doing!” 

 

The man was still for a moment, the laser stopping. For a moment, Peter was relieved; but the next thing he saw was a flash of light, a burning pain knocking into his chest like a speeding car, sending him back. His ears rang as he felt the ground beneath him give away, and before he could collect himself, everything went black. 

 

-

 

He woke up with a hand on his shoulder, and something cold pressed against his back. Sunlight jabbed through his eyelids until he blinked his eyes open, studying his surroundings. He was leaned up on a rock, and Dr.Banner was next to him, wrapping his arm in a bandage and not seeming to notice Peter had woken until he sat up. 

 

“What’s-” 

  
Dr.Banner put his hand up. “Easy, kid,” he warned, his stare stern behind his glasses. Peter just nodded, leaning back down. Out in front of him was just a field, long grass swaying in the wind and sky a swirling blueish gray. For a moment, he questioned if they were even on  _ Earth  _ until he saw a small city under all of the mountains. 

 

“Where are we?” he turned to look back at Dr.Banner, who had finished wrapping his shoulder in gauze and bandages and was now resting his gaze on the landscape before them. 

 

“Don’t worry, when we found you, Thor just teleported everyone away with the bifrost,” he explained. That’s when Peter noticed the sounds of heavy fighting behind him, about to get up until he felt Dr.Banner’s hand on his shoulder again. He was looking over at Peter now, eyebrows furrowed in obvious worry. “Thor’s got it under control, you’ve done enough,” the way he said ‘enough’ felt more encouraging than insulting, and Peter felt himself start to relax against the rock. “You got pretty banged up, but you’ll be alright.” 

 

Peter nodded, moving over to clutch his bandaged shoulder and looking down at the grass. He couldn’t help but think about how he failed, about how Bruce and Thor had to rescue him on only his second day of living with them, how he probably didn’t seem like much of a hero anymore. 

 

“Hey,” Dr.Banner’s voice pulled him out of his self-loathing trance, and he felt the scientist’s elbow gently nudge his side. “Don’t look all down like that, it’s too sad.” Peter couldn’t help but notice the lightness in his tone, the small but encouraging smile on his face. 

 

Peter found himself grinning a little, too. “I can get sad,” Peter argued, more challenging than arguing. “I’m not a little kid anymore.” 

 

“Oh God, don’t bring that up. It was even worse when you were little.” 

 

“What do you mean? When did you-” they were both interrupted by a heavy slamming noise from the fight behind them, but they both seemed to want to just ignore it. Thor and the guy were apparently pretty far away, so the distant clash sounds and yelling were distant.  

 

“Once, when you were really little,” Dr.Banner continued, smirking now. “Me and your dads took you to a zoo, and god, you must’ve been so small that Tony had to hold you the whole time. Anyway- you got super excited to see the reptile house, but when we took you, it was too dark and the snakes scared the  _ Hell  _ out of you. I’ve never heard anything cry so loud in my life. And Tony- I mean, your dad- he was trying to get you to calm down and just look at the animals, holding you close to the glass, but you were just  _ kicking  _ him and yelling at him, and it’s the most I’ve ever seen anyone fight at Tony Stark.” 

 

They both couldn’t help the fit of giggles that came with the story. It was Banner who broke into them first, particularly at the part where he mentioned Peter kicking Tony. It didn’t take long for Peter to join, too, trying to dig deep and find the memory, but  the only zoo trips he could remember were with Ned for school. He couldn’t believe Dr.Banner had known him since he was a baby, but they’d rarely ever hung out. 

 

“Was this the same trip that the giraffe licked pop’s face?” Peter wondered, watching as Banner’s eyes seemed to flash fondly at the memory, nodding and pinching the bridge of his nose. 

 

“Oh, God, that’s right,” he was chuckling now, shaking his head. “I don’t think I’d ever seen Stephen so mad before.” 

 

“You should’ve seen him when my dad tried to sell his spellbooks on Ebay,” they both paused at that for a second before suddenly bursting into laughter, Dr.Banner having to reach under his glasses to wipe tears out of his eyes. 

 

Talking was easy, after that; the two of them waited for Thor and the weird bug guy to finish as they exchanged stories, some of them from when Bruce used to babysit toddler Peter, some of them from Peter’s first experiences as Spiderman- Bruce even talked about the Hulk for a bit, and about meeting Thor on Sakaar, (which he rambled about for the longest). 

 

Eventually, the sounds of fighting subsided, and the two of them were startled away from the conversation when Thor grabbed both of their shoulders. They jumped, looking up to see a smiling Thor, covered in small bruises but nothing that looked too bad. The worst was the cut on his arm. 

 

“Pesky little thing got away. But he wasn’t much of a threat. I tried talking to him, but he wasn’t very...Cooperative,” Thor then plopped down between them, Bruce instantly taking his arm and grabbing the bandages. Thor smiled at him as he mended the wound, not saying anything as he wrapped it up. Thor then looked back at Peter, clapping him on the shoulder. “You did amazing, though! If he hadn’t gotten the first move, you would have definitely taken him down. Easily.” 

 

Peter couldn’t help letting out a wide, toothy smile at that; Thor was  _ proud  _ of him. A literal  _ God.  _ The aching of his wounds went replaced with goosebumps on his arms. “You were more amazing, though! You guys came to get me so fast….” 

 

“It took a lot, but we didn’t want the news to get there before we did,” Bruce explained, gently pressing down the creases in Thor’s bandages. When Thor turned to look back at him, Peter could see traces of red on his cheeks. It wasn’t too hot here, though- he wondered if the fight had given Thor a cold or something. Bruce finished the bandage, looking back up at Thor with a small smile. “I’m gonna go call Tony, tell him what happened. Let me know if anything else...Hurts.” 

 

Thor gave him a small nod, a wide grin spreading across his face. “Thank you, Banner!” Peter became even more puzzled as Thor laid his hand where Bruce’s had been on his bandages, fiddling with them as he rested his arms on his lap. His cheeks still looked pink, and the smile had never left his face. He looked back up at Peter, eyes seeming to sparkle as he did. “Isn’t he wonderful?” 

 

Oh.  _ Oh.  _

 

That’s the moment everything became clear to Peter; the way Bruce smiled so much around Thor, the way Thor was always talking to Bruce and touching him… 

 

This week was getting even more interesting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are enjoying these short and sweet chapters! I wanna keep this going long, and it's so much fun writing these three together. If you have any suggestions/headcannons, shoot em my way and maybe I'll include them in the story! (I already have plans on what to do but it's always nice to have some new stuff to put in :] )


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor and Bruce invite Ned over for dinner.

The rest of the day went on pretty normal after their odd encounter with the bug-man. Bruce made sure to clarify to Tony and Stephen that Peter was okay, that Thor had gotten the guy away and that he’d call Peter’s school about it. After talking with Thor, Peter realized the place he’d teleported them to was middle-of-nowhere Scotland, and he ended up making Thor and Bruce take a picture with him there before they left. 

 

He stared at it was they walked up the stairs to the apartment, smirking to himself. He bet he’d have better vacation pictures than his parents.  _ Take that, dad.  _ Peter scoffed in his mind. 

 

The next school day was unremarkable- no bug-men to speak of. Ned was disappointed that Peter had to leave, and it showed. When he tried to talk to him about why he had to go, he just shrugged and said he hoped Peter had fun. He only lit up when Peter told him that Thor and Bruce invited him over for dinner after school. 

 

“ _ Really!? _ ” Ned exclaimed, grabbing onto Peter’s arms in the middle of class. It was science, and everyone around them was talking over doing their experiments, so thankfully they weren’t disrupting. Ned’s eyes were sparkling under his comically large goggles, and Peter couldn’t help but smile. “Like, they  _ want  _ me to come over?” 

 

Peter chuckled, pouring some substance into the concoction they were making. To be honest, this science experiment was a little...Behind his level, but it was fun, nonetheless. “Of course!” he answered, stirring the liquid and watching it start to bubble. “I think they like you, y’know.” he was a little embarrassed at the way he was talking about them, as if they were dogs that most people had to warm up to. 

 

Ned just smiled wider, gripping onto Peter’s shoulder and shaking him excitedly. “I’m like an Avenger too now! The guy in the chair- well, I’ll need a better name than that, but-” 

 

“Mr.Leeds, is there something more important than the experiment going on?” their teacher interjected, giving the boys a pointed glare.  _ Yes,  _ Peter wanted to interject, but he just kept quiet, looking over at Ned as he stammered, finding an answer. 

 

“Uh- no. No, thank you, sir.” 

 

The teacher gave them a nod, but before they could get back to work, they heard a snort from beside them. MJ was grinning at them, here eyebrows arched as if she was trying to look sarcastic. 

 

“What?” Peter and Ned both asked in unison. 

 

The smirk just seemed to tug at her lips. “Get a room.” 

 

Ned passive-aggressively took his hands off of Peter’s shoulders, his cheeks pink as he went back to stirring the experiment. Peter cleared his throat, looking back down at it as well, feeling his face flush. He didn’t  _ like  _ Ned. Not like that...Not like- 

 

Oh  _ god.  _

 

Peter had completely forgotten about Thor and Bruce’s mutual crush. He could still hear Thor’s question in his mind-  _ Isn’t he wonderful?  _ -, he could still see the pink brushed onto Dr.Banner’s cheeks whenever Thor couldn’t seem to keep his hands off of him. For some reason, he felt responsible for them- responsible for whatever was  _ between  _ them. Not in a bad way, of course; Peter wanted to help them, but he wasn’t sure if him nudging them along would be rude, especially since he was the one staying with them. That’s when the idea came to him. 

 

“Hey, Ned?” He laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder, watching him look up from the experiment. “I need you to do me a favor.” 

 

-

 

“ _ Thor  _ and  _ Hulk _ ?” Ned asked for about the thousandth time as they walked down the steps out of the school. He’d explained it to him over and over; how they looked at eachother, how Thor seemed quiet and gentle with Bruce, how Bruce seemed to smile so much more with Thor. Even after the third explanation, Ned had shaken his head in disbelief. “I mean, it’s not a  _ bad  _ thing, but I never would’ve guessed- is Hulk technically  _ attractive _ ? I guess he’s pretty ripped-” 

 

Peter turned to his friend, gripping his shoulders and looking down at him. “Ok, first of all, I don’t know how  _ Hulk  _ feels about Thor. I haven’t met him. Second, you can’t call Dr.Banner ‘Hulk’ over dinner tonight, ok? My dad told me not to, so I don’t think you should, either,” Ned nodded, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, as if he was taking orders. “And another thing- I mean, it isn’t  _ that  _ crazy. You’ve read mythology. They don’t treat..Y’know, sexuality and stuff the same way we do.” 

 

Ned seemed to consider this, nodding and looking down. “I guess you’re right. I just never would’ve guessed those two, y’know, out of everyone. It almost seems like they wouldn’t...I dunno, fit? It’s like-” 

 

“Hello, Peter!” both of them jumped at the sudden voice, turning to see Thor and Bruce at the bottom of the steps, Thor smiling and waving like the school was the most glorious sight he’d seen. He had his arm lazily thrown across Bruce’s shoulders, both of them looking a little pink as they greeted the two boys. Bruce raised his hand up in a sheepish wave. “We’re here to take you home. Oh! And Ned, too, of course.” he added with a small wink. 

 

Peter gave Ned a look as if to say  _ look how they’re acting, I fuckin told you dude, they’re super ga-  _

“H-hi Thor!” Ned was waving, the biggest, toothiest grin on his face as he approached the two men, Peter following quickly behind him. He gave Bruce a little nod. “Hu-, uh,  _ Dr. Banner. _ ” Peter couldn’t help feeling a pang of pride at how nicely he was acting with them, how quickly he’d dropped the whole ‘Hulk’ thing. 

 

“Hello, Ned,” Thor chimed, patting the boy on his shoulder. Ned looked completely starstruck, Thor just smiling at him. 

 

“Let’s get going,” Bruce announced, digging the car keys out of his pocket. “I can make us dinner.” 

 

“Wonderful!” Thor cheered, looking down at Bruce and patting him on the shoulder. He really did have a huge smile when he looked at Bruce; it was big and dorky, so wide it almost looked like it strained his face. It was kinda funny, if Peter was being honest. 

 

The four of them started walking, until an all-too familiar voice spoke up behind them. “ _ Penis Parker knows Thor? _ ” all of them turned around to see Flash at the top of the stairs, gaping at them, but also looking a little angry, (an expression that wasn’t uncommon for him). Thor looked confused as Peter grabbed both his and Bruce’s arms, beckoning them to the car. Peter just felt them both shrug his hands off, stepping forward. 

 

“What did you call him?” Dr.Banner asked, his voice sounding nice but stern at the same time. Peter felt his neck go hot- not here, please, not in front of  _ them.  _

 

Flash just grinned, eyebrows still crooked as his gaze shifted to Bruce. “Who are you, his  _ grandpa _ ?” Peter looked up at Banner- he seemed unphased. Thor, however, looked  _ furious.  _ Ned was huddled behind them, but Thor just stepped forward, causing him to move more behind Bruce. 

 

Thor pointed at Flash, and Peter saw the other boy’s expression change to something unreadable. “You do  _ not  _ speak to them like that,” Thor’s voice was like a rumble of thunder, low and serious, looming over Flash like a stormcloud. “And don’t listen to me just because I am who I am. You need to get yourself in line, child. Peter is an amazing boy, and you should be  _ befriending  _ him, not making fun of him. And that’s  _ Dr. Bruce Banner,  _ the smartest man this realm has, so you best watch your tongue.” 

 

Peter couldn’t help but smile at Flash’s face. He looked like he’d just seen a spirit, going pale and stepping back, eyes like saucers as his eyes flickered from Thor, to Bruce, then to Peter. He gulped, nodding quickly. “Yeah- I mean, I-I’m sorry. Sir.” Flash stammered, about to walk around them when Thor suddenly grabbed his shoulder, looking down at him. 

 

“You will apologize to Peter.” 

 

Flash was silent for a few seconds, blinking and staring back up at Thor before he turned back to Peter. “I-I-...I’m sorry.  _ Peter. _ ” he looked up at Thor for approval, who gave him the smallest nod before he took off, running so quickly he nearly bumped into passers by on the sidewalk. 

 

The four of them were silent before Ned suddenly cheered. 

 

“Thor, that was  _ amazing!  _ I think you made him cry!” Ned exclaimed, and none of them could help but laugh at that, even Bruce, who Ned still seemed to be huddled behind. 

 

“Well, I do not take pride in making children cry,” Thor clarified as they started to walk to the car. “But I shall say it was quite satisfying.” 

 

“Does getting angry at kids bring back your old English speech?” Bruce teased, sliding into the driver’s seat and smirking over at Thor, who was grinning back at him. 

 

“Hush, Banner. You love it.” 

 

Bruce turned the key in the ignition, turning to face the steering wheel as he started driving. “You’re right. I love it.” Peter could see blush on the scientist’s cheeks through his reflection. He turned to Ned to point it out, but his friend was already gesturing to it, a dorky grin on his face as if he were trying to say  _ I can’t fucking believe neither of them are picking up on this.  _

 

Truthfully, Peter couldn’t believe it, either. 

 

-

 

Ned seemed starstruck by even just Thor and Bruce’s apartment. Peter couldn’t lie, he still sort of was, too; he’d only been sleeping there for a couple of days, but his stuff next to all of theirs seemed crazy to him. Thor had weapons laying everywhere, and other Asgardian knick knacks that Peter couldn’t quite distinguish. Bruce in turn had so much science equipment that Peter hadn’t seen before, not even in his father’s labs. He remembered going over Dr.Banner’s studies in almost every science class he’d been in, but actually being around it was insane. 

 

By dinner, though, Ned seemed more comfortable. They were talking over an Indian dish that Bruce had made, some delicious meal that he’d told them he’d learned to make over his  _ travels,  _ (that word was spoken with a heavy tone) called chicken tikka masala. As they ate, Thor went over he and Bruce’s recent adventure, captivating both Peter and Ned. 

 

“-And so, I wound up in this arena. Odin knows  _ how  _ any of this started, but I was to fight the Grandmaster’s champion. And who was that?” Thor paused, smiling over at Bruce, who was looking down bashfully at his food. 

 

Ned just gasped, Peter staring wide eyed at the two of them. “No way!” They both said in unison, prying a chuckle out of the God. 

 

“Yes indeed way, my friends,” he looked back at them, smiling as he continued with the story. “It was Hulk, of course, not really Banner, but I was so relieved to see him anyway. Well, scared, at first- Hulk and I have of course had our bouts, but seeing a familiar face was very comforting. But when I tried to talk to him, can you believe it? He just fought me! Oh, how the crowd cheered...It was almost pleasing, the way we were entertaining them. Hulk, of course, didn’t let up on me. I was hesitant to attack at first…” He trailed off, looking over at Bruce, who was taking a swig of tea as he watched Thor. “But when I saw it was necessary, I came out victorious.”

 

Peter was sitting up in his seat now, staring at Thor and gripping the table. “Really? You really beat  _ Hulk?  _ How hard was it?” 

 

“ _ Very  _ hard,” Thor answered, nodding as he chewed on some more of his chicken. “But before the fight could properly finish, the Grandmaster zapped me with that disc in my neck. So to everyone else, Hulk won. But to us…” Thor smirked at Bruce, gesturing over to him. Bruce gave him a small smile, as if they’d had this conversation a million times. 

 

“ _ You  _ won.”  Bruce answered, earning a wider smile from Thor as he scooped some rice into his mouth. 

 

“Wait, so,” Ned was facing Bruce now, eyes twinkling and mouth full as he talked. “Do you remember stuff from when you’re Hulk? Does he remember this now? Wait, can he  _ hear me right now?  _ Is he saying anything, or can you not hear him? What is he-” 

 

“ _ Ned, _ ” Peter interjected, giving him a look and putting his hand on his shoulder. 

 

“No, it’s okay,” Bruce gave the boys a small smile, taking a sip of his tea. “Uh, I’m not sure if I can answer  _ all  _ your questions, but...No. I can’t remember anything from when Hulk takes over. And I dunno if he remembers anything, either. I guess you could ask Thor,” He suggested, smiling over at the God, talking over a mouthful of rice. “Hulk’s really warmed up to him. I dunno how he did it, but if he hadn’t found me there, if he hadn’t saved me, I probably would’ve never come back to Earth.” 

 

All eyes were on Thor now. His smile had wavered a little as his cheeks darkened with red, something that neither of them seemed to notice. Peter couldn’t understand how two grown men could be so naive, but before he had time to ponder it, Thor spoke up. 

 

“Well, if it wasn’t for Bruce sacrificing himself to the Hulk, my people would have perished,” Thor retorted, gazing over at the scientist as he spoke. “See, when I finally got Bruce to turn back to himself, he was...Well, he was blabbering like a fool,” Bruce gave him a look but smiled, looking down at his plate again as Thor spoke. “But he also told me that if he turned into the Hulk he may be stuck as that forever. So I told him he didn’t have to...Well, when we got back to Asgard, he did anyway. Just for my people.” 

 

Neither Peter or Ned spoke- it didn’t feel like they should. It felt like Thor and Bruce were talking more to each other than explaining things to the two of them. Bruce looked back up at Thor, face flushed as he chewed, a small smile on his face. “You’ve...Done the same for Earth.” He pointed out. 

 

“But I knew Earth.” 

 

“And I knew you.” Bruce seemed to freeze a little, his chewing halting as his face became more flushed. He scooped more food into his mouth, seemingly trying to brush passed the comment. Thor looked speechless as well, staring back at Bruce before focusing his attention back on dinner. 

 

“Anyway,” the God continued, looking up at Ned and Peter with a smile. His cheeks were still beet red. Figures. “Valkyrie, Loki, Bruce and I ended up beating Hela, but not without the destruction of Asgard. Thankfully, we re-built on Sakaar after they overthrew the Grandmaster. Heimdall is ruling, Loki is helping, and Valkyrie is leading- well...The valkyrie. And I’m here.” He punctuated the story with a smile, looking at both Ned and Peter, who were both still starry eyed. 

 

“That’s...Incredible!” Ned exclaimed, and the two of them began rambling at the same time, both of them too excited to care. 

 

“I can’t believe you saved the universe and we didn’t even know! It’s kind of scary, but cool at the same time! And man, I thought your thing was just hammers, I can’t believe you hit ‘em with  _ that much lightning.  _ I mean, I know you’re the God of Thunder and all but isn’t that different than lightning? Still, it’s so cool-” 

 

“I’m gonna go wash the dishes,” Bruce seemed like he didn’t want to interrupt, trying to get up quietly. Peter looked up at Ned, giving him the  _ now's your chance  _ nod. 

 

“I’ll help you, Dr.Banner!” He announced, getting up and carrying his own plate to the sink. Peter searched for something that could get him and Thor out of the apartment temporarily. Nothing really seemed like it could, his eyes darting desperately around the room until he saw the trash, that was almost overflowing. 

 

“I can take the garbage out! Uh- Thor, could you show me where the dumpster is?” 

 

Thor blinked his eye in surprise before nodding, smiling at him. “You don’t have to, but I’d love to show you!” He moved to the trash can, pulling the garbage bag out of it and leading Peter to the door. 

_ Finally,  _ Peter thought, when they walked out of the apartment.  _ Maybe now we can talk some sense into them.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what are ned and peter gonna say to thor and bruce??? find out on the next episode of lee's horseshit 
> 
> comments make me fall in love


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys give Thor and Bruce the talk.

Thor wasn’t too sure why Peter had decided to come along to take the garbage out. He supposed that Stark and Strange had raised him right, that he was a good, polite kid, but all the child seemed to be doing was pacing behind Thor. His hands were in his coat pockets as the two of them crossed the dark parking lot. 

 

That horrible, familiar stench filled Thor’s nose as they approached the garbage cans, flies buzzing in the yellow light of the blinking streetlamp above them. “So, Peter,” Thor began, breaking the silence and looking back at the boy from over his shoulders. He couldn’t help but notice how worried Peter looked, hugging himself and rubbing his arms. His heart swelled with seemingly unnecessary worry as he lifted the lid of the garbage can. “What brings you out here with me?” 

 

“Wha-What? Nothing, I just wanted- I mean, if you needed help with the trash-” 

 

Thor chuckled, shoving the garbage bag down and clapping the non existent dirt off his hands before he turned back to the boy, beaming through the darkness at him. “That’s not what I meant, Peter. Why did you want to stay with us?” Peter seemed to light up at the question, and Thor felt almost proud. 

 

“Oh! Well, why wouldn’t I? You guys are  _ amazing _ ! And I’ve never gotten to really meet you,” Peter spoke quickly, a smile on his face. Thor nodded, thinking this over. He’d wanted to spend time with Peter over the years, but either he was busy or Stark was, and when Peter was a baby, Strange was nervous to have any of the Avengers around him except a select few. 

 

“You’ve met Bruce!” Thor pointed out, patting Peter’s shoulder and feeling his cheeks flush ever so slightly. He’d heard the stories of when Bruce used to babysit Peter, about how Tony trusted him as a godfather, about how good he’d been with the young boy. It made Thor feel something- pride? Yeah- that was probably it. “He used to take care of you often! I remember the stories.” He began walking back to the house, only to feel Peter grab hold of his arm. 

 

“That’s- uh, that’s kinda why...I brought you out here. Or, came out with you, I mean.” Peter’s voice dropped back to sounding nervous, and Thor paused, turning back to him and raising an eyebrow. Was Peter not getting along with Bruce? That would be a  _ tragedy.  _ Bruce was so great with people after all, with children especially, and it almost scared him that Peter was having problems. 

 

“Because of Bruce? Is something wrong?” He wondered, tilting his head and giving the boy a small smile. 

 

“Oh- no! Not at all! I was just...You’ve been acting-” Peter sighed, letting go of Thor’s arm and running his fingers through his overgrown hair. He looked deep in thought, and even though he’d reassured him, Thor couldn’t help but feel a little worried again. “I know I haven’t known you well enough to notice this, but you seem...Very  _ happy  _ around Dr.Banner. Do you know what I mean?” 

 

Thor considered this, feeling his heart jump a little at the question. Of course Bruce made him happy, but whenever he thought deeply about it, he felt all odd, and warm, and he couldn’t explain it. He felt  _ good,  _ but it was a foreign feeling, and he didn’t know what to do about it. Most of the time, he just pushed it down, until he saw Bruce again and it would all rush back. 

 

“Of course I’m happy around him. Bruce is my friend!” Thor chirped, but Peter only looked exasperated, pinching the bridge of his nose for a second. This just confused Thor even more, before Peter suddenly grabbed his arms, looking up at him. 

 

“You know...I mean-...  _ Thor, _ ” he formulated the words as Thor grabbed his shoulders, smiling down at him. “Would you be...angry, if I gave my opinion on your...Feelings?” 

 

Thor irked an eyebrow at the strange question, shaking his head. “Of course not, Peter. We’re friends! You don’t need to ask.” Thor pat his shoulder, thinking the conversation was over until Peter tugged on his arm. He couldn’t help but feel odd; he never saw himself as the parenting type, but if Peter had a problem, Thor would always listen. 

 

“From what I can see...It looks like you have feelings, deeper feelings for Bruce,” Peter started, and Thor furrowed his eyebrows, stepping back a little as he stared down at the boy. What did he mean? That Bruce should be his shield brother? Or part of his family? “It seems like...You’re crushing on him.” 

 

“Crushing?” Thor chuckled, shaking his head. “I would never hurt Banner, much less  _ crush  _ him. Your humor never fails to entertain me, Peter.” He patted Peter’s shoulder, smiling and turning to go back inside before Peter suddenly grabbed him again. 

 

“ _ Thor _ ,” his tone was more serious now, and for some reason, Thor didn’t turn back to look at him. He just listened. “You’re  _ pining.  _ You want to...To  _ be with him _ .” 

 

Thor froze. 

 

At first, he doubted it. Of course, he was open to men and women and everything in between as most Asgardians are, but he’d never really been with a man before, much less a man who made him feel like...This. He hadn’t even felt like this with  _ Jane-  _ so was this even what Peter thought it was? But then, almost in a flash, it all came rushing to him. 

 

The way Bruce smiled at him, so small and so secretive that you’d have to look in his eyes to really see it. The way Bruce touched him, lightly but powerfully, hands on shoulders or knees or arms or anywhere that Bruce thought he could comfort him. The way Bruce laughed when Thor joked and the way he cried, the way he  _ cried _ after days of nonstop work and stress when Thor had to pry him away from his desk. The way he fell asleep so lightly after that, tears still on his cheeks but his expression content. The way his voice sounded, so gentle and soothing, so calming that it could pull Thor out of a nightmare in an instant. The way he spoke so passionately, voice loud or sleep ridden, defending anyone else before he even thought of defending himself. The way his eyes glistened when he worked, the way he rambled for what seemed like minutes, but Thor didn’t care. He didn’t care because the way Bruce’s face lit up when he spoke or made jokes was enough for Thor to stay there for  _ hours… _

 

Peter was right. And it hit Thor like a freight train. 

 

He felt his cheeks go hot with each passing thought, each memory. Bruce holding him on the refugee ship when Thor broke down under the stress and loss of it all, Bruce smiling and telling him  _ you always have a place with me, bud.  _ Bruce tending to his wounds after battles, none of them too small for the scientist's care, fingers brushing over skin and securing bandages. Bruce turning back from the Hulk on the quinjet, scared and confused, and how Thor had just wanted to wrap his arms around him and tell him that it was ok, that he was safe now, that he wasn’t a slave, trapped by the Grandmaster or the Hulk anymore. 

 

Thor felt it again; that warmth in his chest, that fluttering, and he wanted to run back inside, to take Bruce into his arms just like he should’ve done on the Quinjet. But things were more complicated than that now. 

 

After what seemed like minutes, Thor turned back to Peter, face beet red as he looked down at the boy, nodding slowly. He didn’t know why, but he felt a lump in his throat, and he had no idea what to do about it. He wiped his eyes for the tears that hadn’t even come yet, putting his hand on Peter’s shoulder and gripping it. 

 

“You...Are very perceptive, Peter. Even more perceptive than me. I had no idea I-..,” Peter gave him a patient yet excited look, nodding up at him as Thor continued. “Do you- think he’s fond of me as well?” He felt a little embarrassed asking this to someone so young, but Peter just smiled. 

 

“Absolutely.” He confirmed with a nod, patting Thor on the shoulder. 

 

Thor felt something spark inside of him, a large smile spreading across his face as he suddenly threw his arms around Peter, spinning him around the parking lot and yelling out happily over the boy’s giggles.

 

Peter squirmed in his arms, yelling out and gripping onto him. He kicked his legs smiling and pushing back from the God. When he finally set Peter down, he put his hands on his shoulders, looking Peter straight in the eyes. 

 

“I need..I need to go tell him,” He gave a small nod before starting to take off, only for Peter to grab his arm again. 

 

“Wait! Maybe you should...I dunno, be more subtle? Take him on dates, or something?” 

 

Thor looked back at him, wide smile never flickering as he nodded. “I like how you think...Courting,” he said with a few thoughtful nods. “It’s perfect.” 

 

-

 

Bruce couldn’t help but feel a little awkward, being alone with Ned. He was fine with Peter, but strangers had never been his cup of tea- (was Ned technically even a stranger anymore? He couldn’t tell) but at least there were no awkward silences. The kid was nervous, sure, but he was talkative, and Bruce couldn’t help but feel thankful for that. 

 

“And then he came in, just,  _ crawling on the ceiling!  _ And I was like, oh man, who is this guy? But then he turned back and it was  _ Peter! _ It was so crazy I dropped the legos I spent all night making,” Ned chuckled to himself, shaking his head. “We still haven’t re-built it, either. Isn’t that funny?” 

 

Bruce laughed quietly, using a sponge to scrub the remaining sauce stuck to the plate he’d been washing. He gave Ned a small nod, glancing at him over his shoulder. “That’s crazy.” he hoped he sounded genuine; he was genuine, of course he was, but sometimes when he was quiet in conversations people called him rude, and the last thing that Bruce wanted was to make one of Peter’s friends angry. 

 

“Oh! And, uh,” Ned continued, voice growing oddly louder as he spoke, leaning forward in his chair. “Um..Thor’s really cool, huh?” There was something about his tone that was a little weird for Bruce, but he supposed he couldn’t be suspicious. Hell, Ned’s just a kid, he wasn’t out to get anyone or anything. 

 

“Yeah,” Bruce nodded, feeling a smile grow on his face. He really was- not just on the battlefield, but in living with the God, Thor had found an amazing person. An amazing  _ friend,  _ who was always there for him, always making sure Bruce was alright...It was nice. It made Bruce feel...Something he didn’t really understand, but it was a good feeling, nonetheless. “He is.” 

 

He grabbed another plate, running it under the warm water as Ned continued, absent-mindedly scrubbing it. 

 

“Must be hard to live with him, though.” Ned remarked, voice sounding almost pitiful. Bruce furrowed his eyebrows. 

 

“Why’s that?” 

 

“C’mon, you know. He’s super hot, right? That would-” Ned was interrupted by the clattering of the plate Bruce had been washing as it collided to the sink. Bruce froze before scrambling to pick up chipped away pieces of the plate. It hadn’t completely shattered, but it was cracked, and for some reason the only thing Bruce was worried about was how goddamn red his cheeks were. “Woah! Dr.Banner, are you okay?” Ned got up behind him, but he waved him off, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

 

_ Pull it together, Bruce.  _

 

“I-I’m fine, Ned, sorry,” Bruce threw the remaining pieces of the plate away, seeing a smirk on Ned’s face from the corner of his eye. He chose to ignore it. “It just slipped. Uh- you were saying?” He cursed himself for asking the question, but he supposed it would be rude if Bruce had interrupted him and not acknowledged it. 

 

“I was just saying that Thor’s hot,” Bruce twitched at the sentence. “And y’know, cool, funny, and really nice. It must be hard to live with someone like that without...Well, y’know,  _ feelings _ .” 

 

Bruce felt himself scrubbing the plate harder, bubbles flying over his hands as he did, nodding as Ned talked. He couldn’t help but feel embarrassed; the rumors had come out in the tabloids a while ago, about him, (or as they put it, ‘Hulk’), being gay. There was no evidence, of course, and the headline was definitely just for money, but Bruce couldn’t help being self-conscious

 

_ It was true, after all _ . 

 

Bruce had involuntarily come out to the rest of the Avengers when he got hit on at one of Stark’s parties. It was a woman, and she was being  _ way too close,  _ and everyone could see how uncomfortable Bruce had been. They hadn’t mentioned it, after that; Hell, Tony and Stephen had been together at the time, so it wasn’t a big deal, but for some reason, everyone sort of stepped around it. 

 

“So..,” Ned continued, interrupting his thoughts. “ _ Have  _ you gotten feelings?” 

 

Bruce’s face went hot. Of course he found Thor attractive- what gay man in their right mind wouldn’t? But the thing was, it was more than that. It started on Sakaar, when he’d noticed the blues of his eyes, when he noticed his kindness, when he’d noticed that no, Thor wasn’t a fighter. He wasn’t like the rest of the Avengers. Thor wanted to keep  _ peace,  _ but he was forced into fighting all his life. Thor was the bravest man Bruce had ever met. 

 

And he was so...so  _ forward.  _

 

Thor never danced around the Hulk. He was even more open with it then Tony had been- everyone else acted like he was sick, like he had some sort of disease. Hell, even he treated himself like that sometimes- but Thor treated Bruce like he was special. Like he was something you couldn’t find anywhere else…

 

But that didn’t mean anything. It was Bruce’s imagination, after all, repressed thoughts making themselves into desires, thoughts from seeing all those boys back in college, slow dancing and whispering to each other, something that even then Bruce thought he was unworthy of. He’d been alone, alone and watching as everyone else around him fell in love. 

 

“I-...no,” Bruce told Ned finally. “No- I mean- I don’t know. It’s...complicated.” 

 

“Come on, Dr.Banner! This is like, the  _ one  _ thing in your life that  _ shouldn’t  _ be complicated!” 

 

The truth was, his attraction to Thor wasn’t complicated. Not at all. How Thor smiled, wide and excited, bright eyed as if everything he laid eyes on was as beautiful and special as the sunset. How Thor acted like he was the morning, bright and fresh, joyful and  _ ready.  _ How Thor spoke with such intensity and pride when he talked about things like Asgard or his brother or astrology. How Thor got so emotional at the smallest things; so joyful about seeing a dog, or in tears after a sad movie. About how out of everyone Bruce had met, Thor was so  _ easy.  _ How his smiles and happiness were second nature, how he cared so much and how it was starting to rub off on Bruce. 

 

Bruce turned back to Ned now, nodding, deep in thought as his eyes trailed over to where Thor had been sitting at the dinner table. “You’re...Right, Ned,” he uttered, nodding his head and running his fingers through his curls. “You’re a smart kid. Thank you.” He smiled suddenly, feeling his face flush as he stared at the chair, as he thought about everything they’d been through together, as he thought about how even if this was hopeless, even if Thor would never fall in love with a short, stressed scientist, that this feeling felt so  _ good.  _ That he felt so young and hopeful again. 

 

Before he could collect his thoughts, Ned suddenly hugged him, arms around Bruce’s middle and cheek on his chest. Bruce flung his arms up in surprise but chuckled, patting Ned on the back with a small smile. “I’m glad I could help, Dr.Banner! But I should really get going.” He pulled back, grabbing his backpack and heading for the door. 

 

“Oh!” Bruce wanted to smack himself for not remembering it was a school night. “Uh- do you need a ride?” 

 

“Nah, I only live like, two blocks away,” Ned called, opening the door and smiling at Bruce. 

 

“Oh, alright. It was nice having you.” Bruce said with small smile and wave. Ned  _ beamed.  _

 

“Bye, Dr.Banner! Love you! I mean-” Ned’s face went red, but Bruce just chuckled and waved it off. Ned smiled, waving awkwardly and slipping out of the door. 

 

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, stepping back and sinking into his chair, sighing and shaking his head. Thor would never feel the same way he was feeling, he knew that, but this still felt good, for some reason. He had no idea why, but he felt  _ excited.  _

 

-

 

Peter saw Ned pass them on their way back into the apartment, only smiling and giving him and Thor two thumbs up. Thor seemed confused, but Peter just grinned, walking a little faster back into the apartment. 

 

Bruce was still washing dishes, looking oddly concentrated, jumping when they shut the door. 

 

“ _ Bruce. _ ” Thor said suddenly, and the two looked at each other as if there were a fire between them, as if they had never seen each other before. 

 

Bruce dried his hands with a towel, a small smile on his face as he looked down at his feet. 

  
“ _ Thor _ .” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH DANG THEY'RE GAY?? HAVE THEY BEEN LIKE THAT THIS WHOLE TIME?? JESUS CHRIST I DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING WTF


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets the Revengers.

The rest of the night had been uneventful. 

 

Thor and Bruce had awkwardly talked, Peter putting all his energy into wishing something would happen. Bruce ended up just retiring to his work early, and Thor looked disheartened. Peter couldn’t lie, he felt a little sad about it too, but at least Thor wasn’t rushing into anything. 

 

Thor smiled, blush still on his cheeks as he nodded at him. “Goodnight, Peter.” And just like that, he was alone in the living room. He raked his fingers through his overgrown hair, moving toward the window and pushing it open. The night breeze filtered through the apartment nicely, and Peter couldn’t help but lean against the window, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath. 

 

It was the kind of spring night that made you sleepy, where blankets under your feet felt like they were pulling you in, but Peter knew he’d have to calm himself a bit before he slept. Peter’s mind was racing and he couldn’t seem to shut it down. Why was it so hard for them? How long had they both been pining for each other without even realizing what was happening? For some reason, Peter’s thoughts drifted to Ned. He wondered what he’d said to Dr.Banner. He was sure he didn’t mess anything up; after all, Ned was amazing at talking to people when it came down to it. He could carry a conversation on his back, and get someone’s life story in 10 minutes. 

 

Peter glided his fingers along the top of one of the plant’s leaves. He couldn’t help but worry that he’d messed things up for them, that they were already happy being the way they were and all he did was make it more...Complicated. On the other hand, Thor had been  _ ecstatic  _ after he and Peter’s talk, so what damage could it have done? Peter let his hand fall to the window sill, letting out a small sigh before moving back to the couch. It was best not to think about it, he decided. Things would work themselves out, and even if Peter had nudged them along, he was just trying to do them a favor. 

 

He sunk into the sofa, pulling the blankets over himself with a small hum. Windchimes danced with the wind outside, and for another night Peter was cozily falling asleep in Thor and Bruce’s living room. Worried thoughts that had been clouding his head drifted away as he buried his cheek into the stack of pillows. 

 

The next morning wasn’t so peaceful. 

 

There were a lot of voices and stomping around the apartment, but Peter had been so tired he didn’t even care to look up and see who it was. He just hoped they’d quiet down soon. He drifted in and out of sleep, sometimes being jolted awake by shouting, or by the loud grinding of the coffee machine. Eventually, after he’d been woken up again and couldn’t get back to sleep, he gave up and peeled his eyes open. 

 

They were gathered in the kitchen- Dr. Banner, Thor, a girl he didn’t know and someone else that was blocked from Peter’s vision by the refrigerator. All of their backs were turned to him, and despite them seeming to try to stay quiet, it wasn’t working at all. Peter debated on trying to go back to sleep or not as he checked the time on his phone. 

 

His stomach dropped at what it said.  _ 10 AM. Shit.  _

 

Peter shot up, throwing the blankets off of himself and yanking the charger out of his phone. The talking didn’t cease in the kitchen, but Peter didn’t care. He started rummaging through his bag, pulling clothes out of it frantically and trying to find a matching pair of socks. 

 

“Peter?” Bruce had been the first one to notice him, the rest of the crowd in the kitchen silencing when he spoke. Peter looked up at him, at  _ them,  _ his neck going hot as he felt unfamiliar eyes on him. 

 

“I’m-uh, late for school, but that’s fine, you don’t have to drive me-” 

 

_ “School?”  _ one of the unfamiliar voices spoke up, the one Peter couldn’t see. “Brother, he’s a  _ child  _ and you want to bring him with us?” 

 

“I hate that I’m saying this, but he’s got a point. You didn’t tell us we were babysitting.” The girl spoke now, arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the kitchen table. Peter couldn’t help but feel a sting of hurt in his chest- where were they even bringing him? He wouldn’t be that much of a burden, would he? 

 

“It’s not  _ babysitting,”  _ Bruce argued, running his fingers through his hair as he formulated the next part of his sentence. “He’s not a kid, he’s old enough to come with, I think. And you’re not gonna have to look after him.” 

 

The girl looked over Bruce’s shoulder at Peter, and he felt shivers crawl up his spine. 

 

“Bruce is right,” Thor confirmed, setting a hand on the scientist’s shoulder. Peter could’ve sworn he saw Bruce jump a little at the contact. “Peter can even be useful. He’s a  _ hero,”  _ Thor turned back to look at him, a proud smile on his face. “Aren’t you, Peter?” 

 

Peter couldn’t help but smile back, still digging through his clothes as he nodded. “Uh- y-yeah, you could say that.” He answered, and Thor beamed. 

 

“Wonderful. Then we’re bringing him.” 

 

“If you say so.” The girl said, drowning out the sigh from the person behind the refrigerator. 

 

“Wait-” Peter broke the silence again, and all 4 of them turned to look at him. “So...Does this mean I’m not going to school today?” He wondered, trying hard to contain a grin. 

 

“Nope!” Thor turned to him, folding his arms on his chest and smiling. “You’re going somewhere even  _ better.”  _

 

Bruce was facing him now, standing right by Thor’s side with an uneasy look on your face. “Just- uh...Don’t tell your parents.” With that, Bruce gave Peter the smallest wink, before retreating back to the kitchen. He could hear the sizzling of bacon, and instantly sprang up from the couch to join them at the table. 

 

The three of them sat as Bruce cooked, the girl already sipping a bottle of beer and seeming to study Peter. When the other man emerged from behind the fridge, Peter nearly dropped his phone.  _ “Holy shit-  _ You’re Loki, right?” he turned to look at Thor. “Is that Loki?” The man was dressed in a black suit, black hair tied back in a bun, eyes sharp and green as he stared over at the three of them. 

 

“Yep,” Thor answered, giving Loki a look that Peter couldn’t quite distinguish, but it wasn’t entirely positive. “That’s Loki.” 

 

Loki folded his arms, scowling at Thor before turning to look at Peter. “You’re the spider-boy, I presume?” 

 

Peter took a swig of orange juice, nodding and pushing some hair out of his face. “Uh- spider _ man.”  _

 

Loki raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “Right... “ 

 

Bruce set plates of eggs, bacon and pancakes on the table before taking his seat next to Thor, who was already happily digging in to the mountain of food. The girl was also taking handfuls of bacon, legs crossed as she leaned back in the seat, chewing and silently staring at Peter. He looked back at her, raising his eyebrows in confusion as he loaded his plate with whatever he could get his hands on. 

 

“Valkyrie.” She said through a full mouth. 

 

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. “Huh?” 

 

“That’s my name. You’re Peter, right?” she smirked, looking at Loki. “What kind of name is that?” 

 

Jesus christ, Peter felt so out of place here. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Bruce pinch his nose as the two of them laughed. “Uh- yeah,” he answered, smiling at her and stuffing his cheeks with pancakes. “Your name’s really cool!” 

 

Valkyrie smiled, looking over at Bruce. “I like him.” She decided, and Peter beamed as Valkyrie grabbed another piece of bacon. 

 

Bruce smirked back at her. “Thank God.” 

 

“You’re welcome.” Thor and Loki both said in unison, shooting each other glares from across the table as Peter broke out into laughter. Eventually, everyone else started laughing too, Loki just glaring as Valkyrie slapped his back. 

 

Peter was already feeling more relaxed; the way the four of them talked to each other was similar to how a family would banter, and everyone seemed comfortable around each other. Needless to say, it rubbed off on Peter. The four of them talked for what seemed like hours, and Peter hadn’t noticed his phone buzzing in his pocket until someone else commented on it. 

 

“Why is Peter vibrating?” Valkyrie asked, pointing at him and making him jump. 

 

“Oh! That’s nothing. Just my phone.” Valkyrie shrugged and got up, standing and taking her plate to the kitchen. Everyone else followed her as Peter yanked his phone out of his pocket, checking his notifications. Ned was spamming him with texts- none of which looked too important. For now, he just tucked his phone back into his pocket, bringing his own plate to the sink. 

 

“So!” he said, grinning up at Thor and leaning against the kitchen counter. “Where are we going, exactly?” 

 

Thor seemed to look at Bruce for permission before he continued. Bruce nodded, and Thor smiled down at Peter. “Well, we got a distress signal from someone, an old ally of the Asgardian army. Apparently there’s this group that attacked them and are pretty tough, so we have to go to their planet, and-" 

 

_ “Planet?”  _ Peter felt a little guilty for interrupting him, but he brushed passed the thought. He was going to  _ space.  _ “We’re going to another planet?” 

 

“Indeed.” Thor said. 

 

“Unfortunately.” Loki said. 

 

“Don’t tell your parents- It’s gonna be safe,” Bruce was looking at Peter almost the way a worried father would, hands up in front of him as if trying to calm Peter down. “just a day trip. Nothing to worry about.” 

 

_ “Worry?”  _ Peter exclaimed, throwing his arms up and giving the four his biggest, toothiest grin. “This is  _ amazing! _ Can I go- like, go get stuff together?” 

 

Bruce looked a little taken aback, but he nodded, a small smile on his face. 

 

_ “Sweet!  _ Okay, hold on!” 

 

Peter raced over to his bag, grabbing it and running to the bathroom, gathering everything he’d need. It was hard to tell what one would need when going to space, but he supposed he’d go with his instincts.

 

He thought about Bruce’s words.  _ Don’t tell your parents.  _ With the way this week was shaping up, it was going to be hard. 

 

-

 

_ “Oh!  _ And there was this thing he said the other day, what was it- it was so funny, I know I can remember,” Thor was loading up the ship with supplies as Valkyrie prepared it for take-off. Bruce and Loki were back in the apartment still, and Thor couldn’t help rambling to his friend about him since they were alone. He couldn’t really do it with Peter, (he was a kid, after all), so it felt good to get all of this off his chest. “Ah! I must’ve forgotten. But you should’ve heard it. I was laughing so hard.” 

 

“Uh-huh,” Valkyrie mumbled from the front of the ship.  _ She’s such a good listener,  _ Thor thought, a smile on his face as he continued. 

 

“I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed my feelings sooner. I was such a fool- he’s so wonderful and kind, and so smart. I feel as though being around him brings out the good in me, too. Can you notice a difference in me? Y’know, when I’m around him?” 

 

“I’m starting to.” Valkyrie mumbled, a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she spoke. Thor ignored it. 

 

“You should’ve seen him the other night. He fell asleep on his desk, and he looked so cute-” 

 

_ “Woah!  _ This is your ship?” Thor jumped at Peter’s voice, turning around to see him running toward the ship, Loki and Bruce not far behind him. Thor felt his face flush, but it didn’t seem like Bruce heard anything, so he just smiled and waved at him. Bruce irked an eyebrow in confusion, waving back as he boarded the commodore. “This is so cool!” Peter chirped, inspecting every inch of the ship. 

 

“Thank God you guys came. Thor was talking so much I wanted to self-destruct the ship.” Valkyrie uttered, and Thor felt a jab of betrayal, gaping at Valkyrie in shock. 

 

“I don’t blame you. Banner was as well.” Loki complained, taking a seat in the cockpit. Thor felt his heart speed up at the comment- had Bruce been talking about  _ him?  _ His cheeks prickled with blush as he turned to look at Bruce. He was leaning on the wall toward the back of the ship, cheeks tinted with pink as he scratched the back of his neck. 

“Well...It was a nice change in pace,” Bruce muttered, shooting Loki a glare. “It’s usually the other way around.” 

 

Thor laughed at that- maybe a little too loudly, but he didn’t care. Loki was protesting, but the rest of them were just focused on getting in their seats and strapping themselves in. Thor and Bruce took it upon themselves to sit between Peter, making sure he was buckled up. 

 

“Alright, dweebs,” Valkyrie called from the cockpit. “You ready?” 

 

Thor turned to look at Peter, who was practically bouncing in the seat. “Y-yes!” he squeaked. Thor saw Valkyrie grin at them before turning on the thrusters. 

 

Thor found himself sneaking looks at Bruce during takeoff, a small smile on his face. Space could be the perfect place to begin courting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's space gay time!!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor convinces Bruce to go out into space.

Space seemed to make everything calm down. 

 

Coming from a man who was stressed every second of his life, that was saying something, (especially a man who has been in space several times for circumstances that were much more unpleasant than this). 

 

At first, everyone had been pretty hyped up; Valkyrie insisted on doing her ‘coolest’ flying maneuvers for them, and Bruce had to make sure that Peter was buckled up tight enough. Small talk had been drowned out by cranking up music, and for a couple hours, everyone was energetically tapping their feet to the music and staring out the windows. Now, though, there was a lull over the ship. The dull blinking of the autopilot sign was sending a calming echo through the room, and most of them had fallen asleep in their seats. 

 

Bruce tried to be as quiet as he could, pressing down on his seatbelt and making sure Peter didn’t wake as he stood. He had fallen asleep with his head laying on Bruce’s shoulder, and while Bruce didn’t mind, he couldn’t stay still in this ship. He didn’t know why, exactly; New York already made him feel small, and space made him feel even smaller, and it wasn’t a very restful feeling. 

 

He shuffled to the largest window in the back, socks sliding against the floor whenever a tiny bit of turbulence made the ship rock. He pressed his hand to the glass to sturdy himself, flinching at how cold it was. It was like space was freezing through the commodore, and Bruce couldn’t help but feel even more tiny. Who knows how far away Earth was now? If he got lost in this place, in this darkness, would he even  _ die?  _ Or would he just float, like forgotten space garbage? Each thought made goosebumps wave over his arm, and he decided to pull his hand away from the glass. That was better. 

 

“Are you sleeping with your eyes open again?” Bruce jolted upward at the voice, calming himself when he recognized Thor, standing beside him and staring out the window. Bruce couldn’t help but watch him, the way a smile crept onto his face while he gazed fondly at the stars. He felt his stomach drop when he saw Thor turn his head slightly to look back at him, instantly reverting his gaze back to the window. 

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He meant for his tone to sound like he was teasing, but his voice was so quiet and distant that it didn’t sound much like anything. 

 

“It’s what Loki calls it, when you do this,” Thor explained. Bruce could see Thor staring at him out of the corner of his eye, but he pretended not to notice. “When you get up in the middle of the night, and do things like...Things like this.” 

 

Bruce raised an eyebrow, smirking a little. He didn’t know if Loki was trying to insult him with that, but even if he was, it was a nice sentiment. Being insulted by Loki almost made it feel like he was warming up to you. 

 

“Is that right?” Bruce wondered, feeling his cheeks prickle with heat. He could still see Thor out of the corner of his eye, and when he saw his smile grow, something fluttered in his chest. 

 

“I don’t mean it in a bad way, of course. I have trouble sleeping as well…” 

 

“Who said I had trouble sleeping?” Bruce asked. “Maybe I just wanted to see the view.” The two of them fell silent for a couple of moments. 

 

The stars really did look different from up here; rather than small specs, they looked like explosions of light dotting across a sea of darkness. Sometimes, the glare was so bright that Bruce considered bringing sunglasses the next time they flew out here. 

 

“Do you want to see it closer up?” Bruce turned his head to the God in surprise, watching as he smiled almost as mischievously as Loki. His gaze was still transfixed on the window, stars swimming in the blues of his eyes. 

 

“You’re joking.” 

 

“Far from it. We have suits- and I don’t need one. I can go out with you. You’ll be fine.” 

 

Bruce didn’t feel at  _ all  _ that he’d be fine. What if he Hulked out and the suit ripped to shreds? What if Hulk destroyed the ship, and  _ Peter,  _ and all of his friends? He closed his eyes tight, doing his best to shrug off the thoughts as he moved his hand to the glass again, feeling the frost of space press against his palm. 

 

For a moment, the air around him was starting to feel just as cold, and he closed his eyes tighter. The hair on his arms was standing on end, the only thing pulling him back to reality was Thor’s hand on his shoulder. He blinked his eyes open, meeting the God’s fond stare.

 

“You’ll be fine, Banner. I’ll make sure of it,” Thor squeezed his shoulder. “Of course, I won’t force you, but...You have the chance. Not many Midgardians do.” 

 

Bruce looked back to the window, letting out a long sigh. They both knew he was going to say yes; there was something about Thor that he couldn’t say no to. 

 

“I’ll go.” Bruce decided, earning an excited pat on the shoulder from Thor. 

 

“Wonderful!” He sang, starting to rummage through the supply closet. 

 

He couldn’t help the yelling in his mind;  _ you dumbass, you’re risking your life just for him, you fucking dumbass.  _

 

But there was no going back now. 

 

-

 

Space was cold on Bruce’s skin, colder than the glass against his palm. It was also bright, brighter than anyone would ever tell you. 

 

Thanks to Sakaarian technology, all he needed to breath out there was a clear mask, connected to an oxygen pack that he clipped to his belt loop. The hatch leading to the Commodore’s roof was open, and Bruce was halfway between the galaxy and Thor. 

 

He looked down, considering Thor. It was hard to get a good image of him now; the light around him was making everything down there seem so much darker. He had to squint to see his worried expression, to see the indigo light framing his face.  _ Breath,  _ Bruce reminded himself, when the air caught in his chest.  _ You can breath. You’re fine.  _

 

“You alright, Banner?” Thor called. His voice was as distant as a hum in Bruce’s ears- far away, as if he wasn’t holding Bruce down by the ankles right now. “Do you need to come back inside?” 

 

Bruce looked up, feeling a pressure on his chest. The blackness went up, up, up, no indication of stopping, just lights getting higher and smaller. All around him was the same; just stars and darkness, and  _ nothingness,  _ and more stars. For the first time, Bruce felt overwhelmed, like he was in the middle of everything, yet at the same time lost. 

 

Somehow, it wasn’t unpleasant. 

 

“Banner?” 

 

He let himself lift a little, feeling the pull of the cord keeping him connected to the ship. The absence of feeling wind rush past his ears caused goosebumps to roll over his skin- another reminder that  _ right, he was in space.  _

 

Thor’s grip was sliding down the scientist’s pant leg, Bruce’s stomach dropping along with it. Thor was the only thing grounding him, the only familiar feeling he had left out here, and he wasn’t ready to let go of that yet. He flung his arm down to Thor, but the God was already floating up toward him. The hatch of the ship was small, causing Thor and Bruce to be very,  _ very  _ close. Arms slid against arms, chests brushed against chests, and soon Thor was level with him. 

 

His head was angled down, eyes on Bruce, who didn’t notice at first. When Thor had joined him, he instantly grabbed onto his forearms, Thor reciprocating by gripping Bruce’s shoulders. For the time being, he was speechless, but Thor looked totally comfortable. 

 

“Banner,” Thor’s voice was faint over the sound of Bruce’s own breathing through the mask. “If you won’t speak, send me a sign that you’re alright.” 

 

Bruce squeezed Thor’s forearms. Thor squeezed Bruce’s shoulders. 

 

“Alright,” Even through the mask, Bruce could hear the smile in Thor’s voice. It wasn’t long until he was staring back at Thor, as if they weren’t in space, as if there wasn’t a thousand other things to look at. He was, in fact, beaming. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Thor asked, turning his head to the side, gazing at a red cluster of stars. 

 

Bruce nodded, never once taking his eyes off of Thor. The view was beautiful. 

 

Thor glanced back at Bruce, squeezing his shoulders. “You know, nothing matters when you’re in space. That’s a rule. I made it up, but it sounds true, doesn’t it?” 

 

Bruce nodded. 

 

“Up here, you’re...Just Bruce,” Thor went on, turning his head back to look at the stars. “And I’m Just Thor. Nothing else.” 

 

_ So I’m finally equal to you,  _ Bruce thought.  _ I’m finally in your orbit.  _

 

“Just Bruce.” he found himself mumbling, voice muffled through his mask, and eyes still following Thor’s every move. 

 

Thor lit up. “Just Thor.” he answered. He moved his thumbs gently up and down Bruce’s shoulders. Bruce could have sworn that they had shared one single heartbeat, one pulse between them. Bruce was starting to feel warmer. 

 

“Can you ever really say that?” Bruce asked, his voice small and breathless, (almost literally, if it weren’t for his mask). Thor was so small up here, small compared to the ever-expanding galaxy, yet somehow it all still seemed to circle around him. Bruce wanted to tell him that, to run his fingers through his hair and let the words run loose. 

 

_ He also wanted to rip this mask off and kiss him, but that would be even more idiotic than agreeing to do this in the first place.  _

 

“You can,” Thor answered, nodding his head. He gestured to his left, where the brightest star sat. “If that’s just a star, I can be Just Thor. It’s simple, you know?” 

 

Bruce chuckled. “I don’t understand your logic. I think you’re making things up.” 

 

Thor grinned. “So what? I’m a God. Some people expect me to just speak in poems.” 

 

Bruce smiled back at him. “You are pretty good at it…” He felt Thor’s hand cup the side of his face, his palm resting against his mask. He moved a piece of Bruce’s hair back with his thumb, smile small and fond and so many other things that made Bruce’s chest flutter. “Thor, what are you…” He shook his head, dismissing the rest of the sentence. He didn’t want to finish it if it meant Thor would take his hand away. 

 

“Banner,” Thor’s voice was quiet.  _ “Bruce.  _ You’re...so special.” 

 

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows. “...Thank you. Uh- you too.” 

 

Thor smiled like what Bruce had told a joke. With anyone else, Bruce would’ve thought it was rude, but Thor was always so genuine, so  _ easy.  _

 

“You-...You know that I-” 

 

Bruce’s heart stopped with the sudden  _ slam  _ that erupted from under them, both of their heads turning down to see Valkyrie starting up at them. 

 

“We’re landing soon. Get back down here,” She seemed to notice their position, eyebrows knitting together. “If you stay out there any longer the ship’s gonna go too fast for you, so I suggest you move before I forget you’re out here.” 

 

Thor’s hand pulling away from Bruce’s face was a colder feeling than all of space. 

 

“R-right,” Bruce choked out, holding onto Thor as they scaled back into the ship.

 

If Bruce didn’t know any better, he’d say that every light touch from Thor after that felt electric. But Bruce Banner never got his hopes up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took me so long! I've been a little busy but getting back into writing this felt good! Next chapter will have more Thor-centric parts, I promise. 
> 
> (also, if you're reading this, this chapter reminds me of you rae)

**Author's Note:**

> this is gonna be a fluffy and cute series because i need that right now 
> 
> comments are appreciated! 
> 
> hmu on tumblr @fruit-butt and twitter @roboticpeach


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